Seeking Medical Selfies

A medical researcher from QUT is completing her PhD on patient-generated health data, where patients track and collect data on their own health using wearable technology, smartphone apps and selfies.

Intracellular Microlasers to Track Cancer Migration

Intracellular microlasers - or microscopic lasers introduced into the interior of live cells - could perhaps be used to track cancer cells as they move throughout the body. At least, that’s the hope thanks to a study published in Nature Photonics, which described the study of lasers tracking white blood cells through animals’ bodies for a number of days.

Remind Me Again, How Can Companies Patent Breast Cancer Genes?

Luigi Palombi, Murdoch University

Nominate Your Colleagues for the ACHS Safety & Quality Awards

Do you know someone who is an advocate for the promotion of quality and safety in healthcare in Australia? Nominations for the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards 2015 ACHS Medal are now open.

MERS Leaves South Korea, Suspected in UK

After more than two months from its first reported case, South Korea is ready to declare itself safe from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Improved Gastric Banding Device Developed

Current gastric banding devices use elastic in their function in nutritional modulation for bariatrics, ingestible electronics for diagnosis and monitoring, and gastric-retentive dosage forms for prolonged drug delivery. They have to be tough to survive the acid encountered in the stomach, yet flexible so they can be manipulated through the oesophagus and other narrow parts of the digestive system.

A New Test for Assessing Suicide Risk

The Suicidal Affect Behaviour Cognition Scale (SABCS) is a more accurate predictor of suicidality than other methods, and has the potential to save lives, according to its developer psychology researcher Dr Keith Harris.

Micro-Laparoscopy Tool Developed for Trans-Cranial Neurosurgery

Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee have developed a revolutionary device for performing endoscopic surgery using a device based on needlescopic or micro-laparoscopy tools which allows transnasal brain surgery.

Ethics and Costs under Question in Improved Fetal Screening

Fetal screening is commonplace among pregnant women these days. Somewhere around 10 weeks into their pregnancies, most women undergo ultrasounds accompanied by aneuploidy sampling which determine if further diagnostic tests such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling are required.

Electromagnetic Pulse Therapy Aids Tinnitus Sufferers

Chronic sufferers of tinnitus have received non-invasive brain stimulation to sucessfully reduce their symptoms by up to 31% in US trials published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

Your Input on Child Development is Needed

Do you work with children from birth to five years? Flinders University is looking for professionals working with children in the early years to contribute to their survey in developing a national interdisciplinary educational framework for professionals working with children within this group and their families.

Anaesthetists Scorn 'Nil by Mouth' Pre-Operative Guidelines

Patients fasting before surgery may be doing themselves harm, according to a presentation held at the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) meeting over the weekend.

Bionics: The Future of Healthcare

You may have heard that robots are the future of healthcare, but do you know about bionics (or where biology and electrical engineering meet)? Australia is doing some exciting work in medical bionics and while some of the applications are still in development, others are in clinical trials - and others are already in the market place.

New Epilepsy Treatment for Melbourne's Brain Hub

Australians suffering from focal epilepsy will soon have access to a new treatment, thanks to Melbourne’s Swinburne University. The Magnetoencephalography scanner or MEG located at the university’s Brain Imaging Centre is the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and offers patients a non-invasive method for pinpointing the centre of seizure activity in the brain.

Remembering Those Who Served And Cared